After a long night
by MadHitman
Summary: After a long mission throughout the night, Connor goes the extra mile to find something important to Abby that she has lost.


Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval or anything associated with it.

A/N: Hello, my fellow Primeval fans. I only recently discovered the fan fiction and since then have read a lot of really good stories here, which inspired me to try and write my own. Feedback and constructive criticism would be very much appreciated. I am from Germany and although I use spell-check and checked it for spelling and grammatical mistakes there could still be some mistakes. Hopefully there are only very few. Enjoy reading!

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After a long night

The door of their apartment slammed shut when Connor and Abby came home after another long and tiresome mission. Not to mention it was about three in the morning and the anomaly alert had called them into work seven hours ago, which was supposed to be their day off. It hadn't exactly been a particularly boring night either, even though most of them by now wished it would have been. This time, the anomaly had appeared in a small shopping center, where of course, everyone and everything had gone totally crazy. The initial curiosity and wonder about the dimly shining light with seemingly untouchable, hovering shards of glass had instantly vanished as an obviously angry _Desplatosaurus _came through the warp and went berserk on anything that moved. For the team of the ARC it meant that they somehow had to get 2,5 tons of living, furious carnivore back through the rip in time.

Of course that didn't make for an easy task, but it got even worse since their tranquilizers were rendered useless by the beast's armor-like, thick skin. But even if the team would have managed to somehow calm the ancient giant down they still would have to move his 9 meter long body back to the other side of the anomaly. So maybe it was for the best that it was still very conscious when it followed their bait, which had been made out of every piece of meat they had found in the shopping center. At last, after wrecking half of the interior, the _Desplatosaurus _had noticed the smell of three shopping carts full of easy prey and disappeared through the innocently glistening anomaly.

At that time Connor had joked about how it would be funny, if archeologists found about 80 million year old shopping carts on their digging site. He didn't know that he had whole night of guarding an anomaly in a demolished shopping center without functional electricity ahead of him. Although Connor and the others insisted that the soldiers there would be enough to watch the now well barricaded site, they simply said the presence of the 'experts' is absolutely necessary in case of another incident. Now all of a sudden the whole team was declared experts but when something really happened all of them would be 'standing in the way' again. Eventually the anomaly had closed and everyone could go home, because the cover up-crew took over now.

That moment had been about twenty minutes ago. Luckily the traffic wasn't as bad at this time so their way home didn't take very long. Yet it was still three a.m. and both Connor and Abby were exhausted. It was only the middle of September but the nights were already surprisingly chilly and without power it had been somewhat cold at the anomaly site. In consequence they were happy to be back at Abby's flat with the lizard-friendly warm temperature and slowly peeled out of their jackets.

"Good thing that the _Desplatosaurus _didn't fit through the doors, huh?" Connor asked, to break the tired silence. "Would've been a mess if it had gotten outside."

Abby nodded while yawning. "Yea, I think you're – oh, damn it!" she cursed under her breath.

"What was that?"

"It's nothing." she shook her head. "In all the chaos at the anomaly site I must have lost my scarf, you know, my favorite one."

Of course he knew it; because that was the one she wore when they had first met. "I'm sorry." He said, at a loss for words.

"Nah. Not your fault." Abby yawned again. "And I'm afraid I am just too tired to care."

Connor simply nodded. "Then I suppose we get as much sleep as we can get. Maybe we can look for it tomorrow." He flashed her a tired smile, which was probably meant to cheer her up.

"At least Lester allowed us to come in to work a little later today." She mumbled and moments later disappeared into the bathroom.

Meanwhile he got back in his room and changed his clothes. The ones he had worn on their mission today actually hadn't been ripped or anything, but throughout the day and especially while chasing – or running away from – the _Desplatosaurus _they had gotten sticky with sweat. Connor couldn't stand that feeling, therefore he enjoyed the feeling of being able to get out of those and just lay on the cool sheets of his bed. As he laid there, staring at his pile of clothes, he couldn't help himself and began thinking. Abby had once told him about that pink scarf of hers and what made it so special. Like everything else about the petite blonde, he memorized it. So now he just had to get his weary brain to work properly and remember.

Then it clicked for him. Similar to the ring he wore as a necklace, which was given to him by his father, her scarf had been given to her by her mother as a gift. He didn't know all too much about their relationship, yet from what he got she had left Abby and Jack with their father when they were still very young. Abby had said it didn't bother her too much, but even then Connor thought he had seen under mask of fatigue and saw what the thing meant to her for just a moment. With that thought in mind, plus the image of her realizing her loss again next morning, Connor decided he wouldn't get any sleep anyway and stood up. After putting on some new clothes he carefully stepped out of his room, sneakily made his way over to the door of Abby's and pressed his ear against the door. He couldn't hear a thing and thought it was safe to assume she was sleeping by now.

From there he went down the stairs as quiet as possible in complete darkness, since he didn't to wake her up by switching on the main lights. After a minute or two of searching for the car keys he finally found them on the kitchen table and quickly left the flat. The cool air outside greeted him and Connor made a mental note to buy a new winter jacket when he had the time. He then got into the car and was on his way to the anomaly site. Despite his preference for movie nights at home he also really liked being out in the dark, when the streets were empty and you didn't have the usual need to rush through the city. A weird sense calmness always washed over him in these kind of moments. Not so much in the car, though especially while just walking and getting lost in his thoughts. And even now, with the constant sound of the car engine in the back of his head, his mind still wandered. Quite possibly due to the fact that so much had happened over the course of the last weeks.

Cutter's and his invention of the anomaly detection device, him meeting and dating Caroline more or less successfully, Abby being dragged through an anomaly by the Mer-creatures and everybody thinking she was dead. All of that had kept him on his toes in the recent past. As if that wasn't enough he had made things a lot more complicated by telling Abby that he loved her. Granted, at that point he thought both of them were going to die and absolutely nothing was complicated then. It was more the fact of him not having the guts to repeat it back at their flat, which made things rather awkward for the next days. He had seen the look in her eyes when he decided to go to the theatre with Caroline. The forced smile, the blurred mascara on her face and the hidden tears forming in her eyes still twisted his stomach. It felt like the time he had been almost kicked out of the team for almost revealing the secret to Tom and Duncan, only a thousand times worse. Thinking of his late friend also left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Lately most of his thoughts did that. Yet Connor wasn't the type to get dragged down by that. No, he still enjoyed those late night thoughts. Not so much because he like the melancholy of it, but because everything seemed a lot more clear at night. There were fewer things to distract him and the time appeared to pass faster. Just on the end of that thought he had arrived at the anomaly site. Obviously not too much time had passed, since the cover-up team was still there, which now generated a whole new problem. Apart from Jenny, Connor didn't know any of those guys and vice versa. Sadly, that circumstance was only natural. The one team usually came after the other had left. In addition he hadn't thought the whole thing through, like always when it came to Abby. So it happened that his ID sat on the table at home and the guards were giving him – rightfully, he had to admit – a hard time. Finally, after about twenty minutes of arguing, he heard the voice of an angel.

Or in this case, Jenny Lewis. "Connor, is that you?" she asked. "Let him through." She then instructed the ARC soldiers.

"Thank god you came." Thankfully he stepped up to her so he could fully see her through the night. "Why are you still here?"

"Because it's my job, all of this." She pointed to the shattered remains of half the shopping center. "But I should ask you the same thing."

Connor shifted from one foot to another. "Well, uh, I came to get something." He said secretively-

"Mh." Jenny lifted a brow. "And where could we find _it_?"

"That's the problem, you see? I don't really know…"

Now she crossed her arms. "Look, we're both tired and it would make things a lot easier if you just said what you're looking for."

His face began to heat up and he hoped Jenny couldn't see as he looked down to his feet. "Yea, I- Abby said she'd lost her scarf here and-"

"-And you are trying to find it in this mess?" she completed the sentence for him and gave him a tired smile. "Then you better get started before we start completely cleaning this up."

"Thank you." He nodded and began to go over to the first store, ironically a devastated clothing shop, before Jenny called out to him and he turned around.

"Why do you do this, Connor?"

This time he shrugged. "That scarf means a lot to her. I just don't want her to be unhappy about it."

Jenny's smile grew into a grin. "You do realize that there's a term for waning to make someone happy."

Now Connor was the one to smile. "Yea, I know."

With that, a "Good luck" and a wink from Jenny he turned around again and began his search for the piece of fabric in question. After a while he had lost his feeling for time until the sun began to rise again and he didn't need his flashlight anymore. The crew of the ARC had by now started to clean up and Connor began to worry they might throw Abby's scarf away before he could find it. That was until he finally spotted a tiny shred of pink between the rubble of hundreds of shattered bathroom tiles in a _Bathstore._ He remembered diving for cover there in the moment the _Desplatosaurus _had decided to make him and Abby its next meal. He stopped himself from laughing loudly in relief. The last thing he needed were the curious eyes of the soldiers when he walked out of this shopping center with a pink scarf in his hands. To his own dismay he noticed white spots all over it from broken plaster after he had carefully pulled it out of pile of broken tiles.

Apparently he also had to go to the laundry now before he could go home and finally get some sleep. At least he wouldn't have any difficulties to find an open laundry; it was almost half past seven after all. Plus he needed to think of a way to return her scarf without making a complete idiot out of himself. Traffic had picked up again by now so Connor had to be patient to get to a laundry of his choice where he had to pay the absurd price of 15 pound to wash one piece of clothing. Afterwards he was, at last, on his way home.

He had also decided to just take the scarf up to his room until tomorrow and then figure out how to give it back tomorrow. In his mind he had done enough for today. As he entered the flat he wondered about the lights being turned on as he remembered almost running into the door because of the darkness when he had left.

"Connor?"

The student in question almost hauled over and quickly clasped his hands together behind his back in order to hide her scarf. Then, gracefully as always, expressed his surprise. "Huh?"

While trying to gain control over his heartbeat once again he saw Abby descend the stairs from her room. "Why are you already up again?" he managed to bring out.

"Jenny called. Said she needed to discuss something with me?" Abby rubbed her eyes, but otherwise seemed wide awake. Connor never knew how she did that.

Suddenly she frowned. "Hey, _you're_ the one who just stumbled through the door in yesterday's clothes. Why are you _still_ up? And where were you?"

His face began to turn red again. "Me? I- uh… I was nowhere. Important. Just… you know?" he stuttered.

Connor was a terrible liar. They both knew that, but she enjoyed teasing him and her eyes narrowed mischievously. "I see. And what is it that you're hiding behind your back?"

By now his face was a mixture of flushed red and a frightened white. "What? T-that's nothing, Yea, absolutely nothing."

"Is that so?" Abby grinned and slowly moved towards him.

If that was possible, he didn't like the look on her face and instinctively tried to back out of the situation. That, however, was completely in vain as his back hit the front door a few steps later.

Like a predator, sure of her victory, Abby closed in on him until she was merely inches away and tried to reach around him. Connor knew he wasn't going to get out of this, but he struggled just for a little longer. That could have something to do with the fact that the blonde in front of him still only wore the panties and the top in which she usually slept and was currently rubbing up against him to get what's behind his back.

Eventually, Connor gave up and Abby grabbed the object in question and laughed triumphantly. "Ha! I knew it! I knew you-"

She instantly stopped when she recognized that it was her missing scarf she held in her hands and was now staring at Connor with an unreadable expression on her face.

"How…?" she stopped again. "You were out all night to get this for me?"

Connor nodded timidly. "Yea, you didn't-"

He didn't come any further, because in a split second Abby had thrown her arms around him and he found himself in a tight hug. "You don't know what that means to me."

"I guess not." He whispered.

His heart beat faster as he once again realized how much he wanted this; to be able to hold her like this all the time. He also realized that everything he had done up until now hadn't brought him closer that. More the opposite, because the mess he had created with Caroline and the denial of his confession had only made things that much more complicated. Almost nostalgically he thought back to the first days of the anomaly project. He remembered everything being simple, him trying to flirt with Abby and she shaking her head in silent despair. While recalling all those moments he made a decision.

"Abby, I need to tell you something."

She let go of him almost reluctantly and looked at him, a question forming on her lips.

"I don't really know how begin, but please let me finish, okay?" She nodded slowly and prepared to continue. His next words could decide everything for better or for worse. Hopefully he'd be able to pick the right ones. "I… made some bad decisions, mistakes lately. And I want get this right now. It's just – I don't know." He took a deep breath. "That anomaly three weeks ago, with the Mer-Creatures…"

Her eyes widened and Connor began to panic slightly, color rising to his once more. "On the other side, on those cliffs… I said something." He swallowed.

"You said a lot of things, didn't you?" she mirrored his words, laced with bitterness that made him wince.

He hung his head. "I was being a downright idiot, I know. But when Caroline came in I couldn't-"

The cold look in her eyes had him shut up instantly, also because they were shinier than normal.

"Connor, I needed you that. Regardless of what you said or not. I needed something, someone to hold onto. And you just walked out on me for this… bitch!" she almost spat the last word.

Two things he noticed right away: First, that Abbys voice had cracked by now, betraying her emotions she so rarely talked about and second, that he cared way less for his girlfriend being called a bitch than he should. He almost couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes with his, as he felt tears of regret forming in his own. He opened his mouth, but the words seemed to be stuck in his throat.

"I'm sorry-"

"_What _do you want from me?" she exclaimed, her knuckles white around her now forgotten scarf.

The following silence was ripped apart by the sound of Connor's cell phone ringing. Both could tell from the melody; Caroline was calling.

Abby sighed in resignation. "Aren't you going to get that?"

"No." He knew exactly what he wanted from her now.

Next thing she knew Abby found herself pressed against the wall, both of Connor's arms blocking her from going left or right. Merely split seconds later his lips were planted on hers firmly. Initially she tried to resist but in what though was left she could find neither reason nor power to struggle any longer. Connor himself acted purely on instinct with his heart racing and nearly crying out in relief when he felt Abby respond hesitantly. It was a firm kiss, yet soft at the same time. As if both were afraid one would change his mind the next second. After what felt like seconds, minutes or even hours they had to come apart for air though. Panting they stared at each other, not quite grasping what just happened.

"Wow." Said Abby, still catching her breath. "Where did that come from?"

Connor was at a loss for words, tired after being up the whole night and didn't give damn about any consequences anymore.

"I love you."

This time it was him being up against the wall as the two of them shared another passionate kiss. She didn't say it yet, but Connor knew this was her way of telling him _I love you, too._ If it depended on them, they could have stayed like that for an eternity, but Connors phone went off again.

"Still not going to get that?" Abby asked with a playful smile.

He switched his phone off and threw it away.

"Nah, I've got something better to do."

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A/N: Well, that escalated rather quickly. The story somehow developed differently than I had 'planned'. When I first thought of this, I imagined this being the Connor-does-something-cute-and-Abby-notices-she-loves-him kind of story. But near the end I realized that it pretty much resembled of episode 3.8. so I took it in another direction and ended up with this. However, I hope you had fun reading :)


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